To earn a high score on the IELTS Speaking Test, it’s important khổng lồ understand what types of topics lớn expect, what kinds of questions you’ll be asked, and what sorts of answers you should give in Part 1, Part 2, và Part 3.
Bạn đang xem: Ielts speaking topics part 1, 2, & 3
Below are some genuinegenuine: real, honest; exactly what people say it is; not giả or artificial questions that IELTS Examiners have used in previous years, as well as videos of high-scoring answers by real students.
I’ve also included strategies for how to lớn develop strong answers for each section, based on the guidelines published by the creators of the exam.
Before looking at the topics, though, let’s reviews how the IELTS Speaking kiểm tra is scored, so you can understand why some answers are better than others.
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How the IELTS Band Score is Calculated
The IELTS Speaking demo is conducted as a face-to-face interview, divided into three parts, for a total of 11–14 minutes. The topics & questions are exactly the same for both the Academic và General Training versions of the exam, & your answers are scored against the same four criteria:
Pronunciation – you can pronounce words and express your ideas with appropriate stress, intonation, and rhythmLexical Resource – you use words appropriate for a given topic, and can communicate clearly even when you forget a specific word or phraseGrammatical Range and Accuracy – you can form sentences with multiple parts (clauses) using correct pronouns and verb tensesYou can find detailed information about IELTS scoring on the official website.
It’s also important lớn notice what is not in this list:
You won’t get a lower score if you forget specific details, or if you answer is not 100% honest. You can’t win points for having areally interesting answer, and you don’t thua kém points for offering ahumdrumhumdrum: boring or ordinary; not special or interesting response.
This point is especially important to lớn keep in mind for Part 3.
You might have some strong opinions about a cultural issue in your country – but the Examiner doesn’t want a 10-minute speech from you. Use the short time you have to impress the Examiner with your language skills; don’t focus on trying khổng lồ educate her about a complex topic.
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Recent Speaking Topics (2021)
Let’s now look at a few questions that have appeared recently on the IELTS Speaking Test.
The questions below come from Cambridge’s latest practice book (which is worth purchasing if you want to lớn practice for the demo using genuine questions!).
Part 1
What kinds of emails bởi vì you receive about your work or studies?Do you prefer to email, phone, or text your friends?Do you reply lớn emails as soon as you receive them?Are you happy to receive emails that are advertising things?Part 2
Describe a trang web that you bought something from. You should say:
what the trang web iswhat you bought from this websitehow satisfied you were with what you boughtwhat you liked or disliked about using this websitePart 3
What kinds of things vị people in your country often buy from online shops?Why bởi you think online shopping has become so popular nowadays?What are some possible disadvantages of buying things from online shops?Why do many people today keep buying things which they bởi not need?Do you believe the benefits of a consumer society outweigh the disadvantages?How possible is it to lớn avoid the culture of consumerism?This might look lượt thích a lot of questions to answer in just 11–14 minutes!
The good news is you don’t need lớn answer all of them; you just need to speak for 11–14 minutes. If your answers are lengthy, you’ll get fewer questions. (And if your answers are too short, you may get even more questions.)
Notice a couple of things about this danh mục of questions:
The topics (email, online shopping, consumerism) are all related to lớn ordinary modern life, & don’t require any special knowledge or technical jargonjargon: special words and phrases used by particular groups (such as doctors, lawyers, or scientists) that are difficult for other people lớn understand.
The questions invite you to giới thiệu your personal opinions, experiences, and beliefs – similar lớn a conversation with friends or colleagues – và as such, there are no ‘incorrect’ answers. The Examiner is interested in your knowledge of English grammar và vocabulary, not your knowledge of thư điện tử technology.
Let’s now look at some answers from a high-scoring candidate from Spain.
Example Answer (Band Score 8-9)
The video clip below shows how the IELTS Speaking kiểm tra is conducted from beginning to kết thúc (approximately 13 minutes total).
Let’s now look in more detail at the topics & typical questions for each part.
Part 1 Topics, Questions & Answers
The first part of the IELTS Speaking kiểm tra lasts 4–5 minutes. You’ll be asked to introduce yourself & to speak about two or three personal topics:
People You Know – your friends, family members, neighbors, etc.Places You Know – your hometown, country, school or company, etc.Things You like – your preferences about music, food, books, art, etc.Things You vì chưng – your studies or occupation, your hobbies và habits, etc.The common theme among all these topics is that they are personal & predictable. They are typical ‘small talk’ questions, và the Examiner expects you to lớn be able lớn answer them without alot of hesitationhesitation: the action of speaking or acting slowly because you feel nervous or uncertain.
Preparing for this part of the test can be as simple as studying a good vocabulary book and having lots of conversations in English.
In general, most of the questions in Part 1 fit into three categories – we can điện thoại tư vấn them Do-You, Have-You, and Would-You questions. These three forms challenge you to lớn use different verb tenses và grammatical structures.
‘Do You’ Questions
Your first question will usually be quite general, và may be related lớn your interest, habits, or preferences:
‘What vì chưng you vì on weekends?’‘How often vì chưng you listen khổng lồ music?’‘Do you usually watch films at home or go to lớn the cinema?’Questions like these can be answered with simple present tense verbs, but simple doesn’t mean short.
Try khổng lồ expand your answers with reasons, examples, and comparisons:
‘On weekends I like to spend time with my friends, because we rarely see each other during the week. In the summer we usually visit the beach, whereas in the winter we like to vị indoor activities, like visit museums or play board games.’‘Generally, I only listen lớn music at trang chủ – for instance when I cook dinner, since music tends to distract me at work.’‘Nowadays I tend lớn watch movies at home, due lớn the fact that there are so many more options available through websites like Netflix. However, I don’t mind going to lớn the cinema from time lớn time.’‘Have You’ Questions
Very often the Examiner will also ask a question that shifts the conversation lớn talking about the past and/or changes that have occurred over time:
‘Have you always enjoyed museums?’‘Has your taste in music changed over the years?’‘Have you ever left a theater in the middle of a film?’One of the odd things about the English language is how verbs shift from the simple lớn the present perfect, as soon as you địa chỉ cửa hàng time-related words lượt thích always, ever, or over the years. This type of question checks your skill at using time-related phrases and switching between past và present tenses:
‘Actually, I never used to like going khổng lồ museums, because I usually find them dull. But a new museum opened in our city a few years ago, và the staff there have done a really good job at showing art that is easy for less-artsy people lượt thích me khổng lồ appreciate và understand.’‘Yes, quite a lot. In the past I mostly listened khổng lồ pop music, but over time I have grown khổng lồ love classical music, especially composers like Beethoven & Brahms.’‘Only once, as far as I can remember. I walked out of a film, a really sappy thắm thiết comedy, after only 30 minutes. But I also left because the theater was freezing cold, and I have never been back there since then.’‘Would You’ Questions
You can also expect the Examiner khổng lồ ask you at least one question related to lớn future scenarios or hypothetical situations:
‘Do you have any hobbies that you can imagine doing as a job?’‘Is there a musical instrument that you would lượt thích to learn lớn play?’‘Which actor or actress would you most lượt thích to meet?’These sorts of questions are less common in Part 1 of the IELTS exam (but frequently appear in Part 3). The purpose of these questions is to thử nghiệm your ability to khung conditional statements, which can be a simple as using I would like to. However, this type of question also offers you an opportunity to boost your score with a well-crafted if/then conditional:
‘To be honest, I would rather keep my hobbies và my job separate, because I think that I would lose interest in my passion if I had to vị it for a living.’‘If I ever have enough money, I would love to buy a piano, one of those huge đen ones that you see in symphony halls. But a small electronic keyboard would also be nice.’‘I think it would be fun to lớn meet Charlie Chapin, if he were still alive. Among living film stars, however, the person I would enjoy meeting the most is Dwayne Johnson.’Notice that these questions require fairly simple grammar. You don’t need lớn prepare for any ‘Had you had’ or ‘When will you have’ questions! Instead, you can focus your preparation on mastering English’s present tenses & adding relevant reasons và examples.
Part 2 Topics, Questions &Answers
After about 5 minutes, the Examiner will introduce the next phase of the Speaking Test, which is sometimes called ‘the Long Turn’.
During this part of the test, you must speak for 1–2 minutes about a single topic. The Examiner will give you a sheet of paper with some questions, along with a pen và a blank piece of paper. Before speaking, you will have 1 minute to read the questions and make notes about what you want to say.
The purpose of this task is to kiểm tra your ability khổng lồ speak fluently và coherently for an extended period of time (1–2 minutes). The Examiner now wants khổng lồ see how well you can organize and connect multiple ideas. The Examiner also wants lớn see what happens to your speaking skills when the element of time pressure is added và the tư vấn of a conversation partner is removed.
Like Part 1, the questions are intended to be simple & easy to lớn talk about. They don’t require special expertise, & most of them can be answered with basic vocabulary and grammar. Having said thathaving said that: anidiomatic phrase khổng lồ connect two ideas that seem opposite but are both true, you have the opportunity here khổng lồ boost your score by using advanced words, phrases, and grammatical structures (just make sure you use them in the right way!).
Although it’s impossible to lớn predict which topic the Examiner will give you, most of the topics fit into one of five categories: people, places, things, activities, & past events.
Below are some topics that have the Examiners have used in previous years:
People
Describe a well-known person you lượt thích or admire.Describe someone you know who has started a business.Describe a person who has been an important influence in your life.Describe someone you know who does something well.Describe a film actor from your country who is very popular.Places
Describe a cửa hàng near where you live that you sometimes visit.Describe an interesting place you have visited.Describe a place you would lượt thích to visit in the future.Describe a famous tourist destination in your country.Describe your dream home.Things
Describe a special gift or present you gave khổng lồ someone.Describe something you own which is very important khổng lồ you.Describe a technological device that you would lượt thích to buy in the future.Describe a trang web you use to lớn help you in your work or studies.Describe a tuy nhiên or piece of music you like.Activities
Describe an interest or hobby that you enjoy.Describe an activity that you dislike doing.Describe a trò chơi that you enjoy playing.Describe what you usually vày on an average day.Describe a festival that is important in your country.Past Events
Describe a time when you helped someone.Describe an sự kiện that you attended recently.Describe an important choice you had khổng lồ make in your life.Describe a very difficult task that you succeeded in doing.Describe an interesting discussion you had related to your work or studies.Practice Questions for Part 2
Along with the topic, you will be given four questions to answer.
These questions are not optional, & the Examiner may dockdock: (informal) to reduce a payment or score, often as punishment for bad behavior or poor performance your score if you fail khổng lồ address all of them in your answer.
Having said that, there is no requirement about how much time or how much information you must give for each one. So it’s OK lớn answer three of the questions in 15 seconds and then focus on the fourth question for the rest of the time.
Let"s look at an example, about a person:
Describe a well-known person you like or admire.
You should say:
who this person is what this person has done why this person is well-known và explain why you admire this person.Compare the questions above with the phối below, about a place:
Describe a cửa hàng near where you live that you sometimes visit.
You should say:
what sort of products or services it sells what the siêu thị looks like where it is located và explain why you visit this shop.And here"s a mix of questions about athing:
Describe a gift that you gave lớn someone.
You should say:
whom you gave it khổng lồ why you gave it what it looked like and explain why you chose this gift.One thing you may notice: the format of these questions is a little strange.
There are no question marks, & the fourth ‘question’ is separated from the list. It’s not clear why the makers of the IELTS exam bởi this, except perhaps to chạy thử your reading comprehension skills.
Here’s another example of a high-scoring candidate:
After you are finished speaking, the Examiner may also ask you one or two extra questions. These are generally simple, ‘small talk’ questions.
For example, here"s a set of questions about an activity:
Describe an interest or hobby that you enjoy.
You should say:
how you become interested in it how long you have been doing it why you enjoy it & explain what benefits you get from this interest orhobby.After you finish speaking, the Examiner may ask you:
vị you think you will always be interested in this hobby?
And a speaking prompt about a past event:
Describe a time when you helped someone.
You should say:
whom you helped when you helped this person how you helped him or her và explain why you decided to lớn offer help.The Examiner may ask you:
In general, bởi you enjoy helping people?
Don’t bao tay out about these questions. They are simply intended lớn offer you a brief pause, a moment khổng lồ relax between the găng of Part 2 and the complex questions in Part 3.
How lớn Prepare for Part 2
Like the topics themselves, it is impossible lớn predict exactly which questions you will get. You can feel assured, however, that the questions will be simple & unsurprising. They will be about who, what, where, when, why, or how.
To prepprep: (informal) lớn prepare – especially for a task that requires attention & skill for this part of the Speaking Test, you can brainstorm questions & answers for each of the topics listed above.
For instance, for the topic ‘Describe someone you know who has started a business’, you should practice answering questions like:
who this person iswhat kind of work this person doeswhere & when the business operateswhy this person decided lớn start a businesshow you would feel if you did the same kind of workAnswering all of these questions may require a lot more than 2 minutes, but if you do this exercise for each of the 25 topics listed above, then 1–2 minutes will start to lớn feel incredibly easy!
Part 3 Topics, Questions &Answers
In the final 4–5 minutes of the Speaking Test, you will be asked a few questions that are more abstract. They often require you lớn make comparisons, to lớn describe trendstrend: the general direction in which something is changing over a long period of time (e.g. Better and better, or worse & worse), and to talk about causes and effects.
These topics are a bit similar to the topics you see in Task 2 of the IELTS Writing test – & for that reason, you can use a lot of the same vocabulary và grammar constructions here in order to địa chỉ reasons, examples, and comparisons to lớn your answers, using words & phrases lượt thích because, due to lớn the fact that, for instance, such as, by contrast, on the other hand, etc.
In every case, the questions in Part 3 will be connected to the topic you spoke about in Part 2, and the Examiner will try to lớn push you a bit with further questions related khổng lồ your answers.
Below are examples of Part 3 questions related to topics featured above.
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Notice that a lot of questions that begin ‘What about…?’ What about young people? What about people who live in small towns? The Examiner will also press you to explain ‘Why?’ or ‘Why not?’
We’ve been talking about a well-known person you lượt thích or admire. I would now lượt thích to ask you a few more general questions related to lớn this:
Famous People
In your country, what kind of people become famous?What about in the past? Were these kinds of people also famous in the past?What about in the future? vì chưng you think that these people will continue to become famous in your country in the future?Celebrity Culture
Famous people are often used in advertisements. Can you give me some examples of that?Do you think advertisements featuring celebrities can produce a negative effect on young people?How might celebrities be used khổng lồ influence public opinion?We’ve been talking about a shop near where you live. I would now like to ask you a few more general questions related khổng lồ this:
Local Businesses
What types of local businesses are there in your neighborhood (e.g. Restaurants, shops, dentist offices)?Do you think local businesses like these are important for a neighborhood? (In what way?)How vày large shopping malls & shopping centers affect small local businesses? (Why bởi vì you think this is?)Businesspeople
Why vày you think some people want lớn run their own business?Are there any disadvantages to running a business? (Which is the most serious?)In your opinion, what are the most important qualities for a businessperson to lớn succeed? (Why?)We’ve been talking about a special gift you gave lớn someone. I would now lượt thích to ask you a few more general questions related khổng lồ this:
Gift Giving in Families
On what occasions vì chưng family members give gifts to lớn one another in your country?What about from children? What sort of gifts vị children give to the adults in their families?How important vì you think it is for family members lớn give gifts khổng lồ one another?Business và Society
In what situations might people give gifts when they are in business?What about gift giving for the economy in general? Is gift giving an important part of the economy in your country?Some people say that it would be better for society if all the money spent on gifts was given lớn poor people instead. What vày you think about that?We’ve been talking about an interest or hobby that you enjoy. I would now lượt thích to ask you a few more general questions related khổng lồ this:
Social Life
How might having a hobby be good for a person’s social life?What about hobbies that people vì alone (e.g. Watching movies, reading books)? vì chưng you think these hobbies can also positively influence a person’s social life?Are there any negative effects? vày you think that there can be negative consequences of spending too much time on a hobby?Leisure Time
In your country, how much time vì chưng people spend on work compared lớn leisure activities?What about in the past? Would you say that people in your country worked the same amount in the past, or did they work more?What about in the future? vì you think people in your country will have more or less không tính tiền time in the future?We’ve been talking about a time you helped someone. I would now lượt thích to ask you a few more general questions related to lớn this:
Helping Neighbors
Can you tell me some of the things that people sometimes bởi vì to help their neighbors?In your opinion, is it important for neighbors to lớn help each other? (Why?)Do you think people who live in small towns help each other more than people who live in big cities? (Why?)Care Work
Can you give me some examples of jobs that focus on helping people?What sort of qualities does a person need to do these kinds of jobs?Do you think that they are paid fairly for their work? (Why, or why not?)Keep in mind that these are just a few of the potential topics you may be asked to talk about during the IELTS Speaking Test. For more practice topics, check out:
It can also be helpful khổng lồ listen to English podcasts or YouTube channels & make cảnh báo of phrases & collocations that you could incorporate into your answers.